Jefferson rallied the Timberwolves to their season-high fourth
straight victory by scoring 16 of his 23 points in the fourth
quarter of a 109-102 win against the Memphis Grizzlies on
Saturday night.

"That felt like the old Al," said Jefferson, who made each of
his eight shots in the fourth. "That was a good feeling. I even
got winded, but that energy was coming out of somewhere for me."

The Timberwolves were slow to follow orders from coach Kurt
Rambis to get the ball inside, and 20 first-half points from
Ryan Gomes was their only steady production until then.

When the Memphis lead was at seven points with 8 minutes left,
though, Jefferson found his touch. He scored 12 straight to give
the Timberwolves the final push they needed to avoid their first
season sweep by the Grizzlies franchise, swishing shots from all
over the floor. He even sank a 16-footer, a shot Rambis doesn't
normally like him to take.

"I thought he was about to cuss me out," said Jefferson, whose
return this season from reconstructive right knee surgery
naturally has been up and down.

No, Rambis was actually quite pleased on this night after the
rough start.

Corey Brewer, who had 15 of his 17 points in the third quarter,
helped spark the turnaround by finishing a fast break with a
one-handed dunk from outside the lane to tie it at 76.

Ramon Sessions had nine of his 19 points in the third, too,
playing well enough that rookie starter Jonny Flynn sat on the
bench for nearly the last 20 minutes of the game.

Flynn actually told Rambis to keep Sessions in because he was
playing so well, a gesture praised by Jefferson after the game
in Minnesota's boisterous locker room. The Timberwolves won at
Dallas the night before, improving to 4-5 against the current
top four teams in the Western Conference and stretching the
confidence of this inexperienced team to a clear season high.

"I wasn't looking for applause," Flynn said. "I was just looking
for who was our best chance to win."

Rudy Gay did his best to keep the Grizzlies in it with an array
of pull-up jumpers, finishing with 27 points and eight rebounds.
Zach Randolph had 14 points and 13 rebounds, but let the Wolves
outhustle him for a handful of loose balls and rebounds down the
stretch. The Grizzlies got only 16 points from their reserves,
and Sessions and Kevin Love combined for 31 points off the bench
by themselves.

"It's not because we can't hold leads or we don't match up,"
coach Lionel Hollins said. "They just beat us."

Gay went 13 for 18 from the floor. The Wolves, though, were 13
for 17 in the fourth quarter - going almost eight minutes
without a miss in one stretch.

"They were making good decisions. They were penetrating and
going to the basket. It was just tough for us," Gay said,
adding: "We're in a funk. Every team goes through it."

After a 15-4 stretch from mid-December through late January, the
Grizzlies have lost five of their last six games.

"We're going through a little adversity right now, kind of like
we did earlier in the season but on a smaller scale," said Mike
Conley, who had 14 points for the Grizzlies. "We've got to learn
how to get through this."

Love returned from a scary knee injury to knock down the sealing
3-pointer with 1:14 left that gave Minnesota a 104-99 lead. Love
whacked his chest a couple of times on the way back to the other
end, and Flynn leaped into his arms in a bear hug in
celebration.

Jefferson was the star of the show, though, pump-faking Randolph
into the air a few minutes earlier and dribbling right for a
baseline jumper that cut the Memphis lead to 95-94 at the 3:48
mark to end his run of 12 straight points.

"When he gets it going," Brewer said, "he can really get it
going."

NOTES: Over 15 years playing Vancouver and Memphis, Minnesota
has always won at least one game per season. The Wolves lost
their first three against the Grizzlies this season, but are
40-18 all-time against them. ... Jefferson is shooting 62.3
percent (33 for 53) over his last four games, with 42 rebounds.
... The Grizzlies have lost seven of their last eight road
games.